[5]
Governor’s Prosperity Council Report Calls for Urgency
By Oregon Business & Industry [6],
What happened: On Thursday, the Governor’s Prosperity Council [7] released its highly anticipated list of recommendations. Gov. Kotek created the council in January to help create strategies to achieve the goals listed in her Oregon Prosperity Roadmap [8].
Recommendation summary: Many of the Prosperity Council’s recommendations – as well as the report’s characterization of Oregon’s economic and competitive challenges – echo those in OBI’s Oregon Competitiveness Agenda [9]. The council’s 10 priority recommendations include calls for more competitive tax policies, enforceable statewide permitting timelines, a reduction in regulatory “burdens,” modernization of state policies governing industrial and employment land, and the replacement of the Climate Protection Program with a cap and invest program aligned with those in neighboring states. The report also emphasizes the need for urgent and bold action, pointing out that “incremental change will not be enough.” Read the report here [10].
OBI’s response: OBI appreciates the work done by members of the Prosperity Council and urges the governor and Legislature to act quickly to adopt them. Identifying the policies and conditions responsible for Oregon’s slipping competitiveness and struggling economy is not difficult. The state’s businesses have been talking about them for years. Making the necessary changes will be difficult and will require leadership from the governor and key legislators. It is necessary, however. Failing to follow through on the council’s work will ensure that Oregon continues to lose business investment and jobs. Read OBI’s full statement here [11].